Gwen's Lucky Day
by FinalMagus
Summary: A short, 5 chapter, story about Gwen's continuing experiences as Lucky Girl. This story takes place between episodes 24 and 25, and is not guaranteed to fit with the main storyline afterwards. No pairings.
1. Ch1 Curious Research

**Chapter 1 – Curious Research**

Gwen sighed as she closed the cover on her laptop. It had already been two weeks since the battle with Hex and Charmcaster. As far as she could tell, the Keystone of Bezel was still just a piece of rock. She still wore it, on a necklace now, but it just wasn't working.

She had spent all her free time researching the Keystone and the spell that Ben had interrupted. Sometimes, she wished he hadn't, but then Hex and Charmcaster would still be a threat. There didn't seem to be anything she could do for the moment.

"Grandpa..."

"What's the matter Gwen?"

"Nothing... It's just... did the Plumbers ever deal with anything... magical?"

"YAWN!" Ben had been sleeping in the other seat, but awoke at the mention of the Plumbers.

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious..."

"Well, no. Not really. You see, in the Paranormal Investigations Department of the government, there were three main groups. The Plumbers were in charge of dealing with aliens and other strange creatures. Another group, called Tech Support, dealt with anything ultra-tech, like Dr. Animo's Transmodulator. They also developed most of the weapons the Plumbers used. And finally, the third group, the Bookkeepers, dealt with anything magical. They kept to themselves most of the time though, so I don't know much about them."

"Awesome! That sounds a lot like us. I bet the guys in Tech Support have some really cool gear!" Ben had a wide-eyed grin on his face.

"That's true. The best in fact."

"And what about the Bookkeepers?" Gwen asked hopefully.

"Well, like I said, I don't really know much about them. They were more secretive than the other groups. For example, the Plumbers had their base under Mt. Rushmore and Tech Support had their base at Area 51, although they've probably moved now. The Bookkeepers on the other hand used the magic they collected to hide their base in another dimension, or so I understand."

"Whoa," was all Ben could manage.

"So, why didn't the Bookkeepers deal with Hex and Charmcaster?"

"That's a good question. The Plumbers had a variety of ways to get information about aliens, but often we'd just hear about strange creatures on the news or police radio. Perhaps the Bookkeepers just hadn't had time to track them down."

"It's a good thing I was, OW... err... we were there then." Ben said. "You didn't have to hit me." Gwen just scowled at him.

_Surely they would have known,_ Gwen thought. _Why didn't they act?_

"Hey kids! We just entered Los Angeles city limits." Ben ran to the front seat to see the city center in the distance. Gwen was still working on her laptop.

Soon they found a place to park so they could plan what to do for the day.

"There's a bookstore near here I want to check out," Gwen said hurriedly.

"Uh, sure. If you're in a hurry, I guess we can go there first."

"Thanks grandpa."

"A bookstore? Boring."

"You might not think so once we get there. Come on," Gwen said as she was opening the door.

At first glance, the bookstore didn't seem too strange. The decoration seemed a little dark but what set it apart were the book titles. It didn't take Max long to realize that this was an occult bookstore. Ben just looked a bit confused.

Gwen was already thumbing through various leather-bound books.

"Excuse me?" she asked the old woman behind the desk.

"Yes?"

"How much... how much do you know about..." she began timidly. She was embarrassed to ask about magic and magical items. Some how it didn't seem real. Was she really going to try to learn magic? Real magic? Hex and Charmcaster were real and they used magic. Why couldn't she? She had made Hex's staff work. It didn't work now because of the backlash from that spell, but she had still kept it, just in case.

The old woman smiled knowingly. "How much do I know about magical artifacts?"

Gwen was surprised. "How did you...?"

"I know you are carrying one around your neck right now. Even though it's exhausted, I can still tell it's there. Most of these books out here are for the usual customers. Really, this place is basically a used bookstore. People buy these books for fun and then bring them back when they've had enough. Come with me to the back."

"Grandpa, are these what I think they are?"

"Yes Ben. This is an occult bookstore. It looks like Gwen intends to learn more about magic after that last run in with Hex."

The back room had several more bookshelves but Gwen could already tell these were different. She began to pick up one of the books near the end but something made her think twice. The old woman walked off among the shelves and soon came back carrying three books. "Here. I think these are what you are looking for. This one is a book for apprentices to learn from. It's a good place to start. This one is all about magic items, including making and recharging them," the old woman said with a wink. "And this one is an empty grimoire for later."

When they got back to the front room, the old lady spoke up again and said, "That'll be $74.88. This is a business after all."

"Please grandpa."

"Are you sure this is a good idea? Well, alright." Max said, taking some money out of his pocket.

Just then they heard sirens and tires squealing outside as a car sped past followed by several cop cars. Ben ran outside and turned the Omnitrix to XLR8. When he activated it thought, he ended up becoming Four Arms instead. "Oh man. How am I supposed to catch them now?" Ben said as he began running in the direction of the sirens.

Gwen ran outside too. Quickly, she flipped through the first book. One of the pages caught her eye. It mentioned bad luck and gave an incantation. Without giving it too much though, she held out a hand towards the criminal's car and read the incantation. She felt a brief surge of energy pass down here arm.

Down the road, the contents of an overfull dumpster settled, causing an old glass bottle to roll out in front of the speeding car. The front tire ran over the bottle, smashing it. Being old and hot from the chase, the glass punctured the tire and the car was sent skidding into another dumpster further down the road. The cops quickly surrounded the car.

Ben was only about half way there and had been loosing ground. There was no point in continuing now, so he turned and headed back. Max was still in the store paying for the books. "She's got a lot of potential," the old woman said as she handed him the change.

"They both do," Max said, with mixed feelings. He had worried when Ben first got the Omnitrix, too. That had worked out all right in the end. He hoped this would too.


	2. Ch2 Preparation

**Chapter 2 - Preparation**

Over the next few days Gwen read through each of the books, between sight seeing. She was in a better mood than she had been in a while. The spells needed to recharge the Keystone were all there in the second book along with other interesting information. She knew that recharging the Keystone meant that the spell to recreate the Charms of Bezel could be cast again, but since Hex and Charmcaster had been drained of their magic, she wasn't worried.

According to the book, it would take three spells to fully recharge the Keystone. The first had to be cast during a full moon, which would be tonight. She could hardly contain her excitement.

"Grandpa, do you think we can find a park to camp in tonight?"

"Sure. Any specific reason?"

"Not really. I just wanted to get a good look at tonight's full moon."

Ben was trying to read the first book but wasn't getting anywhere with it. She had tried to keep it away from it at first, but then decided it couldn't hurt, as long as he was careful with it. Now she could see she was right. He had no talent when it came to magic. He couldn't manage even the simplest spell. She had a lot of fun teasing him with it. It was payback for all the times he had teased her with his powers.

Later that night, while Ben and Max were sitting around a campfire, toasting marshmallows, Gwen was a ways away preparing to cast the spell. The first spell was simple. All it did really was prepare the item for the next spell. Luckily, it didn't require anything strange to cast. It did take a lot of concentration to remember all of the words though.

Ben and Max watched from the campfire as Gwen began reciting the incantation. They couldn't really hear what she was saying, but they could see the effects of it. The Keystone was floating in front of her and it was glowing. They looked at each other. "Grandpa, do you think this is alright?"

"I don't know, Ben, but I wasn't sure it was alright for you to have the Omnitrix either. I don't have any right to deny either of you the chance to improve yourselves. I can only help you to use your powers responsibly."

"If you say so."

Ben and Max weren't the only one's watching as Gwen finished her spell and ran back for some s'mores. In fact, two other people were watching from two other places.

"That was easy," Gwen said with a laugh. "The next spell won't be though," she added more seriously. "I need to find a source of magically energy to charge the Keystone with."

"Mmnmnph..." Ben began, before he had finished his bite of s'mores. "What's a 'source of magically energy' anyway?" he finally managed.

"Well, according to my research, there are three types of sources. There are magical places, like ley lines. There are magical times, like the solstices. Then there are certain things that are basically magical batteries. I need to find one of these before I can cast the next spell."

Elsewhere, "Should we stop here before she can recharge the Keystone of Bezel?"

"No. We'll let her have it and see how she uses it. It will be a good test."

"And what of Hex?"

"Keep an eye on him, but we'll let her deal with him, if she can."

"I've been thinking about this. Since I can't find any places of power or items of power any time soon I should try to use one of the magical times. The summer solstice is coming up soon, so I should be able to use that. I just need a wide open area where I can get a good view of the sky at sunrise."

"Uh-huh," commented Ben. Gwen scowled at him. He was too busy playing his game to pay attention.

"How about the beach?" Max asked from the front seat.

"That's perfect Grandpa, and afterwards we can have a beach party." _The solstice is still a few days away, so I should have enough time to prepare,_ she thought. _At sunrise I need to cast the second spell and then at sunset, the third, and then I can be Lucky Girl again._

Before dawn on the day of the solstice, Ben and Max were setting up their spot on the beach while Gwen was drawing a magic circle in the sand. Ben and Max were getting used to having a sorceress in the family, so they did their best to not disturb her. As the sun began to rise, Gwen placed the Keystone in the center of the circle and began the incantation. After 30 minutes, she was finished, but exhausted. She sat down in the sand to catch her breath and then passed out.

Ben saw her fall over and ran to her side. "Gwen! Are you all right? Gwen?"

After a few seconds she regained consciousness. "Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. It's just that that took a lot out of me. I just need to rest. Just don't touch that circle. It has to remain undisturbed all day for it to recharge as much as possible."

Ben helped her to her feet and they walked over to their rest spot. All throughout the day Ben and Gwen kept an eye on the magic circle to make sure it was undisturbed. Despite this, they managed to have a good time.


	3. Ch3 Encounter

**Chapter 3 - Encounter**

As night began to fall, Gwen began to prepare for the final spell to seal in the energy the Keystone had absorbed. The spell was very similar to the first spell, so it would be easy compared to the one she had cast that morning.

As she was walking towards the circle, she heard a voice from somewhere nearby. "You did much better than I thought you would, but I'll be taking the Keystone back now."

"Ben did you..."

"Yeah. That was Hex wasn't it?"

"I've been waiting for this day since our last encounter," Hex's voice echoed.  
"How did you get out of jail this time?"

"You thought the backlash from that spell drained me of my magic didn't you? If that was true, why weren't you drained too? Because, you can't drain the magic from a person. All that was drained were the spells I had protecting me. Between Charmcaster and myself, we escaped from the police on the way to jail. Since then I've been watching you, waiting for my chance. And now, while the Keystone is unusable..." he said with a wav of his staff. A portal appeared near the circle and Hex stepped out.

"Ben!" Gwen cried.

"Right. Come on. Work this time. I need XLR8." However, when the Omnitrix activated, he found himself as Heatblast. "Stupid watch! Oh well, good enough," he mumbled as he threw a fireball towards Hex.

"Ben, can you keep him busy while I finish the spell?"

"Sure."

Gwen ran over to the circle and began her incantation. Hex turned on her, but was distracted by another fireball. Ben charged him, trying to tackle him, but Hex dodged and, with a wave of energy, pushed Ben off balance. A cloud of steam arose as he hit the edge of the water.

Hex once again turned his attention towards Gwen, but before he could interrupt her, Ben managed to distract him again. He couldn't use his full force while Hex was so close to Gwen, so he had to make due with littler fireballs. Unfortunately, Hex was easily able to defend against them. At least it was keeping him distracted.

Hex and Ben were left in a standoff. As long as Hex focused on Ben, neither could do anything. If he tried to attack Gwen, he would be vulnerable. Suddenly, something hit him in the side of the head. He turned to see Max preparing to throw another hot dog at him. Ben saw his chance and threw a fireball, knocking Hex off his feet.

Hex stood up in a rage. "Enough!" He waved his staff over his head.

Ben decided to try charging again, but this time he ran into some kind of barrier. He tried to burn it down, but it wasn't working. He still couldn't risk using too much power so close to Gwen so he had no choice but to go around it._ This isn't good. Gwen... Where's Gwen?_

Hex turned back towards Gwen, but she was gone, and so was the Keystone!

"Looking for me?"

When he turned around, he saw Gwen standing there with the Keystone around her neck. "Blast you!"

He hurled a wave of energy at her, but she easily deflected it. She hadn't neglected defense during her studies, and now, with the power of the Keystone, it was all so easy.

Ben managed to get over the barrier and landed behind Hex. He has trapped. "I'll be back. Count on it."

"Oh no you don't!" Ben shouted, but it was too late. Hex leapt through a magical portal, which quickly closed behind him. Shortly afterwards, the Omnitrix deactivated.

"Ah! It feels good to have this back!" Gwen said proudly.

"I guess this means I can expect to see Lucky Girl again?"

"Count on it," she said happily.

"You know, I've been thinking. With the Keystone restored, I could cast the spell to recreate the other Charms of Bezel."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Max asked.

"It was just a thought. It would probably be too dangerous for me right now. Plus, I'm not sure it's safe for the Charms to exist. The Keystone is just one small stone, so it's easier to keep protect."

"Well, at least the Keystone can't be used to level an entire city on its own," Ben said from the back.

"Not that we know of," Max said.

"Yeah," Gwen said thoughtfully. "I don't think I'd trust anyone with that much power. Not even me."

"What about me?" Ben asked as he walked up from the back.

"Especially not you!"

"What's that supposed to mean? I already have that kind of power!"

"No, you don't Ben. And it's probably a good thing too," Max said. "Even if you meant well, power like that can be hard to control."

"I guess you're right Grandpa."

Suddenly there was an explosion beside the road ahead of them. Max stepped on the brake. Ben was already activating the Omnitrix and Gwen was already running off to change.

The explosion had come from a jewelry store. The thieves were already shoveling all of the gems and debris together into a large bucket.

Ben leapt out of the RV as Four Arms and charged into the jewelry store. A few seconds later, Lucky Girl leapt out and ran in too.

Inside the store, two of the thieves were keeping Ben distracted enough that the third managed to grab the bucket and make a break for it. Gwen kicked at a piece of wood lying at her feet. It flew towards the guy, knocking the bucket out of his hands, which he then tripped over. When he fell, he collided with a partially destroyed wooden column and was knocked out. The column began to fall towards Ben.

Gwen kicked a piece of loose stone towards Ben, which hit him behind the knee, causing him to kneel down, just as the column was about to hit him. Instead, the column hit one of the other thieves, knocking him out too. Finally, the column hit the ground, sending a piece of debris crashing into the ceiling, knocking more debris down onto the third thief.

"Sorry about that... uh... Four Arms."

Ben brushed himself off and took a look around. All three thieves were unconscious. "Yeah... well... we should leave the rest to the authorities."

They could already hear sirens approaching.

"We should go. The cops always ask too many questions," Ben said.

"Alright."

They ran back to the RV and hid inside. Gwen hurried into the bedroom to change and Ben hid in the bathroom.

When the cops arrived and found the thieves unconscious, they were certainly confused. As best they could tell, one of them had tripped on a piece of debris and knocked loose a damaged column, which had knocked the other two out. Some of the witnesses reported seeing a large, red man with four arms trying to stop the thieves before someone dressed as a black cat took all three out with two kicks.

One of the police officers approached the RV. "Excuse me sir, I'd like to ask you a few questions about what happened here."

"Of course, officer. I'd be happy to help."

Gwen walked up from the bedroom. "Hello, officer."

"Is there anyone else in here?"

"Just my grandson, Ben. He's in the restroom. He's been in there the whole time, so he missed all the action. I don't think he's feeling well."

"Alright. Well, can you two tell me what you saw here?"


	4. Ch4 Search

**Chapter 4 - Search**

After several minutes, the police officer left. Once they were on the road again, Ben emerged from the bathroom, still as Four Arms. "It looks like I'm stuck this way for a while."

"Maybe I can use my magic to turn you back," Gwen said.

"That's probably not a good idea," Max interrupted. "Remember what happened when Ben had a cold? Mixing magic and alien technology could be a lot worse."

"Well. Maybe I could use a spell to tell me how to deactivate it. You said Vilgax was able to turn the Omnitrix off against your will."

An hour later, "I managed to find three spells I could use for this. The first would figure out how something works, but it might not work on something as complex as the Omnitrix. The second spell would let me attempt to deactivate something, but like grandpa said, it might not be a good idea to mix magic and alien technology. Finally, the third spell will let me see into an object's past. I could see what buttons Vilgax pushed to turn it off. It'll take longer than the other spells though."

"We're in no hurry," Max said. "Let's play it safe and use the third spell."

"I don't know, grandpa. It's a little cramped in here," Ben said, still as Four Arms.

"Alright. Ben, come over here," Gwen said.

Ben stood by the table as Gwen began the incantation for the spell. Her became eyes unfocused, as if she were staring at something in the distance.

"I can see the jewelry store robbery from earlier. And the car chase from before that. And... this could take a while."

Ben and Max waited patiently while Gwen continued to explore farther into the Omnitrix's past. After a few minutes, "There it is! Vilgax was holding you in the air and then he pushed these little buttons, like this."

In a flash, the Omnitrix deactivated, leaving Ben as himself. Gwen was straining against the spell to return her vision to the present.

"Gwen?" Ben asked, with some concern in his voice.

"I'm all right. It's just taking a little effort to end the spell." In her mind, she saw the Omnitrix being launched from the alien ship as Vilgax shot it down. She saw it being stolen from Vilgax's laboratories. When she caught a glimpse of the Omnitrix being created, the shock snapped her back to reality. She let go of it like it was poisonous.

"What's the matter Gwen?" Max asked.

"Nothing," she said, shaking off the experience. "Nothing, grandpa. It's just... I saw a little of how the Omnitrix was made. Vilgax wasn't exactly gentle in extracting the DNA for it."

Ben looked at the Omnitrix with mixed feelings. It wouldn't come off in any case, and if those aliens' lives were sacrificed to make it, the least he could do is put it to good use. He remembered the war Hoverboard had talked about. He hoped it was going well for the good guys, especially since Vilgax was out of the way.

"Are you alright, Ben?" Max asked.

"Yeah grandpa. It's just... something to think about."

"I've been doing some research, grandpa. I think I know where Hex might be headed."

"Since he can create those magic portals, couldn't he be anywhere?" Ben asked.

"Those only work over short distances. Anyway, Bezel was a great magician 800 years ago. He created the Keystone and then used it to create the Charms. Bezel supposedly left behind a diary that told how he created the Keystone. If Hex got a hold of that diary, he can create another Keystone."

"So where is this diary?"

"That's the thing. No one has seen it in over a hundred years, but just recently, it turned up in an auction house in L.A."

Ben and Max looked at each other in surprise before Max quickly turned the RV around and headed back towards L.A.

When they arrived at the auction house, they could already tell that something was wrong. People were running out of the place.

"I'm going in," Ben said, as he turned the dial to show Ghostfreak. "Alright," he said, in a hollow voice, as he floated out through the wall of the RV. Shortly afterwards, Gwen ran outside as Lucky Girl.

Inside, Ben found several gargoyles defending the entrance to the storeroom. "You don't look like the regular security guards," he quipped. When the gargoyles lunged at him, they simply flew through him and crashed into the floor on the other side. As they were getting up, Ben went into the storeroom.

Gwen ran around the corner just as the gargoyles returned to their posts. When they dove at her, she quickly slid under them. This time, instead of crashing into the floor, they crashed into each other. With their heads destroyed, they became simple statues again.

Inside the storeroom, Gwen found Hex and Ben battling among the shelves. Hex's magic was affecting Ben, even though he was intangible. The magic couldn't get to him when he passed through objects though. All in all, neither was making much progress.

Quickly, Gwen picked up a large stone, which she hoped wasn't too valuable, and threw it at Hex. He dodged it but it hit the corner of a shelf behind him, which toppled forward.

Hex managed to dive out of the way, but while he was distracted, Ben snuck up on him. With a few good punches, Hex was out cold.

"Quick, hold his hands up," Gwen said.

Ben did so, and Gwen began wrapping a piece of cord around his wrists, reciting an incantation as she did so.

"There," she said afterwards. "As long as that's on his wrists, he won't be able to use magic. Now we just need to turn him over to the proper authorities."

"And who would that be?" Ben inquired.

"Us," said a voice from behind them.


	5. Ch5 Showdown

**Chapter 5 - Showdown**

When they turned, they saw a glowing portal in midair. Someone stepped out.

"I am from the Magic Research and Containment Department, formerly know as the Bookkeepers."

Gwen's eyes lit up. "I knew it! I knew you wouldn't have just let someone like Hex run loose."

"Yes, we have been watching you ever since your first encounter with Hex."

"And what about..." The Omnitrix began to beep. "... me," Ben finished, as himself.

"We have known about you for a while, but you do not fall under our jurisdiction. I heard that the Plumbers, well, the group that used to be called the Plumbers, have been keeping an eye on you though.

"Lucky Girl, or should I say Gwen Tennyson, you have much potential. We would normally ask you to come with us for training, but it seems like your adventures with your cousin and grandfather are doing a good job of that already.

"We have decided to leave the Keystone of Bezel in your care. I will take Hex and Bezel's diary back with me. As long as you use your abilities wisely and discreetly, we are confident that you will make a valuable member of our team some day.

"Just remember, our organization exists to keep magic away from the general public, for their own safety. Keep your powers hidden from those that know nothing about magic. Normally, this would apply to your family as well, but a former Plumber and the owner of the Omnitrix are not considered the general public."

The man began rummaging in one of the boxes on a nearby shelf. Soon he pulled out a book and turned to Hex. He bent down and inspected the cord. "Nice work, by the way."

"Thanks," Gwen said, blushing slightly.

"I helped too," Ben said, somewhat sourly. The others ignored him.

Muttering a few words, the man levitated Hex into the open portal, and then walked over to Gwen. "Here, take this." He handed her what looked like a golden seashell. "It is a communication device. With it you can contact the Bookkeepers, but do not use it unless it is an emergency. I will take my leave now. My work here is done. We will almost certainly see each other again. Good luck until then, Lucky Girl."

With that, he turned and walked through the portal. It shimmered and then disappeared behind him.

"Well, let's get out of here before someone sees this mess," Ben said, after a few seconds.

"Right"

"Then we ran back here before the cops got here," Ben finished.

"It sounds like the Bookkeepers are interested in recruiting you when you grow up," Max said.

"I can't wait," Gwen said, with a big smile on her face.

"Well, while you kids were dealing with Hex, I got a call from my old friend Donovan. He just finished building his new resort and has invited us to take a tour before it's opened to the public. What do you say?"

"Donovan as in Donovan Grand Smith? He's an old friend of yours? I've read about his new resort. It's built underwater. You have to take a boat to get to the place."

"Cool. Let's go!"


End file.
